Arabstoday reveals background to Mawlawi\'s arrest

Gunmen in flashpoint area of city of Tripoli, north Lebanon Residents of Lebanon\'s northern city, Tripoli, have witnessed on Monday \"the most fearful day ever in their lives\", security sources told Arabstoday. Political efforts to contain the tension appear to have failed as sectarian clashes spilled over into Monday night between Sunni and Shia militants, as new violence reached the city\'s southern entrance and the road leading to Zgherta and Diniyeh, as well as the side streets which had previously been peaceful. Residents in these flashpoints began to leave their homes for more secure areas of the city after mortar shells were exchanged by both  sides at 7.30 pm local time.
The trigger  to this rising tension was a  judicial decree extending the detention of  Salafist activist Shay al-Mawlawi, under suspicion that he is involved in a terrorist group.
Special sources told Arabstoday that Mawlawi is suspected of belonging to a six-man network, consisting of three Lebanese and three Arabs of Qatari, Palestinian and Jordanian nationalities. All other members bar Mawlawi were arrested earlier by the security agencies, including a Lebanese citizen, by the name of Hamza Tarabiyeh,  who was arrested two days before Mawlawi, and he confessed to Mawlawi\'s role in the network. The sources would not reveal the identity of the third Lebanese member of the network.
The military investigative judge, Nabil Wehbi,  on Monday afternoon interrogated three members of the network; Mawlawi, Tarabiyeh and a Qatari citizen called Abdelaziz Attiyeh. Mawlawi was kept in detention, while the other two were released but barred from travelling.
The officer who arrested Mawlawi from a social service office belonging to the Finance Minister Mohammed al-Safadi, was put under investigation, according to a statement issued by the information bureau of the Interior Ministry. The Interior Minister Marwan Charbel himself, told Arabstoday that he was keen  to reveal the details of the arrest operation once accurate details are compiled,  saying that the officer who led the operation deserves credit for arresting \"such a dangerous person\" who is wanted by the judiciary, but at the same time, \"he must be accountable for the way he chose to arrest his target, \" Charbel said, adding that  there are many ways to arrest a suspect and that entering a minister\'s office is not one of them.
Meanwhile, the Finance Minister Mohammed al-Safadi, has affirmed he will issue a lawsuit against the General Security Agency, and welcomed information and \"clear answers\" as to who was responsible for using his  name and his office for such an operation.